Latest Offenders

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A 56-year-old cannabis addict who was high on cocaine and alcohol lured a 16-year-old girl back to his campervan after plying her with drink and drugs, before sexually assaulting her.

Neville Chapman, now 60, committed the terrifying crimes in Darwen in September 2019.

He was finally found guilty of assault by penetration following a trial in June 2023, which had been delayed multiple times, and was granted conditional bail by Judge Graham Knowles KC to appear for his sentence hearing in August.

However, Chapman, previously of Bridgefield Close, Rishton, failed to appear for his sentence hearing, which placed him in breach of bail, and instead, went on the run for almost four weeks.

Preston Crown Court heard his disappearance sparked a major manhunt by Lancashire Police, in which underwater search and rescue teams were deployed, and thousands of pounds spent on a campaign to find him.

When he was eventually apprehended in September 2023, he was charged with breach of bail, and a further charge of breaching his sex offender notification requirements imposed upon him by Judge Knowles at the completion of his trial and was remanded into custody.

The notification breach related to Chapman failing to tell the police he was no longer residing at Bridgefield Close, following an argument with his sister, whose home he was staying at.

On Thursday, January 11, Chapman was finally brought back before Judge Knowles to be sentenced for the crime he committed in September 2019.

The court was told that on September 16 that year, Chapman and others had been out drinking and taking drugs in Darwen.

At some time during the course of the evening, a 16-year-old girl joined him and his party, with Chapman plying her with double vodkas, and even cocaine, to the point where, as she described in her victim personal statement, she was “wasted”.

As the teenager became even more intoxicated, to the extent where she vomited in the toilets of a pub they were in, Chapman and his friends decided to leave so Chapman could “get more cocaine”.

They then went back to his campervan, with the girl being taken along with them.

The court heard the teenager was under the assumption Chapman would “give her a lift home”, but this never happened.

As the night wore on, and Chapman’s friends departed, he and his victim were left alone in his campervan.

Judge Knowles said: “You asked her, ‘do you want to go home or stay here with me’?

“Unsurprisingly, she said she wanted to go home but you drove your campervan, and then parked up and clambered into the back with her, where you tried to kiss her, pulled her top down and pulled her pants down.”

Judge Knowles told the court that the girl, “felt disgusted and tried to push him away before vomiting again”.

Undeterred, Chapman continued to try and undress her and then sexual assaulted her.

He continued: “She said she felt a tightness in her chest and couldn’t breathe.

“She eventually managed to push you off and got out and started walking away.”

At this point Chapman tried to follow the girl in his van, despite being intoxicated himself, until she turned down an alley and ran home.

The teenager told her mother what had happened, and the police were called, but when he was arrested, Chapman told officers: “Look at the size of her, if I wanted to rape her there would have been nothing she could do about it.”

Judge Knowles went on: “You are 60 now, and you have been a cannabis user for most of your life.

“You struck when she was isolated and alone with you in your van in the early hours, with little likelihood of anyone coming to her aid.

“You blamed her in your interview and blamed her outright for what happened.

“You pose a risk to young girls, and the sentence I give you must be an extended one.”

Chapman, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to a bail act offence and breach of the sex offender notification requirements.

He was found guilty after trial of two counts of sexual assault - one by penetration, and was jailed for 10 years and eight months, with a three year extended licence period, giving a total extended sentence of 13 years and eight months.

He was also told to sign the sex offender’s register for life.

DS Mark Parrington, of the East Child Protection Team, said: “This was a particularly nasty offence committed against a 16-year-old girl while she was clearly in a vulnerable state.

“This offence has very much had an impact on her, made all the worse by Chapman forcing her to re-live her ordeal during a trial.

“We take all offences of this nature extremely seriously and do everything in our power to put the perpetrators before the courts.

"I would ask anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offence to contact the police, knowing they will be believed and listened to.”

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A paedophile was caught with hundreds of pictures and films of children being abused including videos of boys being brutally sexually tortured and beaten, a court has heard. The discovery was made after members of the public raised concerns about Richard Hill acting "strangely" in popular parkland.

Sending 37-year-old Hill to prison, the judge said some of the films found on his phone showed the "prolonged sexual torture of little boys" and said it was because of people like him that there was a trade in making and distributing such material.

Gareth James, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court that on September 11 last year members of the public approached police officers in Abergavenny town centre and reported concerns about a male "acting strangely" in Castle Meadows. Officers went to the area and found Hill laying face down on a towel. When he was roused, the intoxicated defendant gave his name as Rick Hill and a check of police records showed he was a registered sex offender having previously been convicted at Hereford Crown Court.

The court heard that because of his record police seized his phone and checked it, and though they initially found no indecent images they did find concerning conversations on WhatsApp about underage sex. Hill explained the messages were "fantasy". However a subsequent forensic examination of the device found a total of 759 indecent pictures and videos of child abuse including 263 deemed Category A which show the most extreme kinds of sexual abuse such as rape.

The court heard details of one video of more than 12 minutes in length that showed a young boy in a "dirty outhouse" being bound with rope and stamped on while being sexually abused before he was waterboarded and urinated on. The man carrying out the abuse then gives the camera a thumbs up sign.

The full details of the video are too upsetting to be reported. The court heard the very experienced police forensic examiner who located and viewed the video on Hill's phone found its contents "very distressing", and dealing with the evidence in the case has had a "profound effect" on him.

Also on the defendant's phone were another 864 "indicative" images where it was not clear if the subjects were under the age of 18 along with a dozen prohibited images including very realistic computer generated images.

Richard Hill, of Willow Court, Abergavenny, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of indecent images of categories A, B and C and one count of possession of prohibited images when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has five previous convictions for seven offences including making and distributing indecent images from Hereford Crown Court in 2018, offending for which he was given a 16-month sentence and was made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order and was put on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Ben Waters, for Hill, said the defendant was "appalled at his behaviour" and knows the court and the community will find it abhorrent. He said his client was a "young man dealing with issues from his past" and a pre-sentence report had identified that he wished to "amend the deficiencies in himself". The barrister invited the court to pass a suspended sentence that would allow work to be done to address the issues - he said such a sentence would not just be in the best interests of the defendant but also of the community.

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke said some of the images found on Hill's phone showed "prolonged sexual torture of little boys", and she said the defendant had watched the brutal torture for his own sexual gratification. She said it was because of people like Hill that there was a trade in making and distributing such material.

With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas, Hill was sentenced to two years and four months in prison - he will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the next 10 years, and will be a registered sex offender for the same period of time. Judge Lloyd-Clarke said even if the sentence had been one that was capable of being suspended - that is a sentence of two years or less - the offending was so serious she would not have suspended it.

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A FORMER pipe band member guilty of sex attacks on three women has been jailed for eight years.

Paul Edwardson preyed on his victims including one who was forced to fake a panic to get him away.

The 23-year-old claimed the women had lied and that there had been a plot to get him locked up.

Edwardson was today sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.

He had earlier been convicted of raping two of the young women and assaulting the other with intent to rape.

He pleaded guilty before the trial to having underage sex with a teenage girl.

The offences occurred between 2017 and 2021 mainly at Edwardson's home in Dumbarton.

Sentencing, Lord Scott said he had read a powerful statement from one of the women describing the "significant impact" the ordeal has had on her.

The judge told Edwardson: "Referring to all that she has had to go through - because of you - she has said this whole process has been dehumanising, draining and confusing.

"She mentioned the impact not only on her, but her family and friends whose support has helped her so much.

"This has ensured that she has become a survivor rather than simply another of your victims."

Lord Scott added Edwardson had continued to make "vain protestations of innocence" and that he had "hinted of some sort of conspiracy" against him.

The first offender will also be supervised for two years on his release.

He was further placed on the sex offenders list indefinitely and banned from contacting the three women jurors convicted him of attacking.

The first rape victim was attacked after she had fallen asleep.

In his closing speech, prosecutor John McElroy KC stated: "She was pinned down by her wrists, she told him to stop, he was not listening and he had sex with her."

The next victim was preyed upon after she had also started to fall asleep.

Mr McElroy said: "She did not want sex. It takes her faking a panic attack to put him off."

This victim told the trial she had been insistent with Edwardson.

She added: "One obvious way was me telling him I did not to - I told him multiple times.

"If that was not coming across then I had to take extra measures to do something."

After the intent to rape attack, the young woman was described by a friend as "distraught" and "speaking at 100mph".

The jury heard of texts where the victim confronted Edwardson about what happened.

He stated: "I am so sorry. I did not even think."

The other rape victim said she had no recollection of having any sexual contact.

Mr McElroy stated: "The last thing she can remember before waking up naked on top of a bare mattress is going to bed because she was drunk."

Jurors heard evidence Edwardson went on to wash the victim and her clothes, said to have been in a bid to "hide the evidence" of what he did.

Edwardson claimed at trial the women "told lie after lie".

Mr McElroy added: "I suggest that you would be entitled to the view this is a desperate claim by a desperate man."

It was also heard during the trial how creepy Edwardson would talk about his late mum and show photos of her grave in an apparent attempt at getting young women to feel sorry for him.

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A WEST Cumbrian man who worked in museum management has been jailed after he admitted sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.

The child suffered nightmares and lost her innocence because of the abuse committed by 53-year-old Stephen Jones, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

The defendant, who worked as a duty manager at Workington’s Helena Thompson Museum, admitted eight allegations, most relating to his sexual contact with the teenager.

One arose out of his creation of an indecent child image. Prosecutor Steven Swift outlined the facts.

He said that the first indication that the defendant had taken advantage of the girl came when the child’s mother noticed messages which Jones had sent to her daughter on her mobile.

They seemed inappropriate.

When the girl’s mother confronted her daughter, the teenager confirmed that Jones abused her sexually six times. She had recorded some of what happened between her and the defendant in her journal.

Part of the contact between the girl and Jones involved him sending her an indecent image of himself and asking for photos of her.

In some of her writings, the girl had spoken of Jones as being “creepy” and she also said that she had hated the sexual contact.

“The defendant is 53 and a man of previous good character,” said the prosecutor.

Brendan Burke, mitigating, said: “The only serious mitigation in this case is the defendant’s indication of guilty pleas.”

Judge Michael Fanning said that the offending happened over a relatively short period of time. “But she was a vulnerable girl and you knew that,” the judge told Jones, of Brierydale, Salterbeck, Workington.

The impact on the victim had been heart-breaking. She had now “retreated into herself” and suffers nightmares. The judge added: “Her childhood innocence has been stolen and there is no replacing it.”

He jailed the defendant for four years and eight months and put Jones on the Sex Offender Register for life.

He will be subjected to a 15-year sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order forbids him from having any contact with the victim.

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A sex offender “went off the grid” and ended up living with a new partner and her young child without telling the police where he was. Derby Crown Court heard how Jamie Richardson also spent more than 24 hours at another woman’s house who also had a son and daughter aged under 18 during days of offending late last year.

The 33-year-old for mer Derby man also went missing from the address he had given to his supervising team which had been put in place after he was spared immediate custody for child sex offences. And when they went to his mother’s address searching for him, she told them he had first been living with her and then more recently at his new girlfriend’s home.

Dan Scothern, prosecuting, said Richardson was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order as part of a suspended sentence order imposed at Derby Crown Court in 2020 for offences of attempting to engage a child in sexual communication and attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act. He said: “On September 22, last year, police went to what they thought was his home address and when they arrived neighbours told them he had not lived there since April.

“They went to his mother’s address who disclosed he had been living with her but was now living in Uttoxeter with his partner and her child. Neither of those addresses had been registered with the police and that was one of the requirements of his notification requirements.

“He had also failed to notify the police that he was in a new relationship with a new partner who had a 10-year-old. The second complainant was a woman who contacted the police on September 26 telling them she was concerned that a male she was dating might be a registered sex offender and that he had stayed at her address for a 26-hour period.

“She has three children, two of which are under the age of 18 and he (the defendant) had failed to notify the police he had stayed at that address which was another requirement. He had also failed to notify the police, as he was required to do, of an iPhone and an iPad which he had used to communicate with the second complainant and that one method he used to communicate with her was through Snapchat which does not keep its internet history.”

Richardson, of no fixed address and who appeared over a video link from HMP Nottingham for this week’s hearing, pleaded guilty to four breaches of a sexual harm prevention order and five breaches of the notification requirements of being on the sex offender register. His only conviction was the 2020 one which saw him handed a 16-month jail term, suspended for two years, for the child sex offences.

Katie Hodgkinson, mitigating, said her client had pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity and was a carer for his partner, who was in the public gallery and who she said had recently been diagnosed with cancer.

She said: “He’s acutely aware of the position he has put himself in and he knows there is no excuse.” Judge Martin Hurst jailed Richardson for two years.

He said: “(You) went off the grid for at least nine months living with one woman who has a child for a significant period and you had contact with another woman, who also had children and stayed with her for more than 12 hours.”

The sexual harm prevention order remains in place as does the defendant being on the sex offender register, until 2030.

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A 20-year-old man from Bristol has been jailed for 18 years for rape and other sexual offences committed against five girls, all aged under 18.

Curtis Otley, of Showering Road, Stockwood, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court yesterday (10 January), having been found guilty in September of 12 offences, including rape, attempted rape and sexual activity with a child, committed between 2020 and 2023.

Otley’s victims, whose bravery has been praised by officers, said his crimes had had a long-term effect on them.

In a victim statement read out in court, one of the girls said: “I was worried that people wouldn’t believe me and until I heard the verdict this remained a constant worry, hanging over my head – even though I knew that what I was saying had happened.

“I would say that at my age, most kids don’t go through this stress and are free to enjoy their lives and have fun. I feel like Curtis has taken a large part of this away from me.”

Another said: “I don’t trust anyone at all anymore.  I am quite reserved with male friends and find it difficult to let my guard down.”

And, speaking on behalf of her daughter, the mother of another of his victims said: “I have talked to her about future relationships with boys and men, when she’s older and she said she’s not interested, she feels that boys and men can’t be trusted.”

The investigation was led by the Operation Topaz team which is dedicated to investigating child sexual exploitation and has been supporting the victims.

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A 38-year-old man from Eastleigh has been jailed for 15 years for the rape and sexual assault of a child.

Andrew Paul Tucker, of Shaw Road was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on Thursday (4 January).

The nine offences, for which he has been imprisoned, took place between 2017 and 2023. At the time of the first incident, the victim was just ten years of age.

Upon his release from prison, Tucker must also then serve eight years on an extended licence, and will be subject to a restraining order and sexual harm prevention order.

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A man repeatedly sexually assaulted a young child and offered her gifts of sweets if she was a "good girl", a court has heard.

Dean Imperato, who ran his own gardening and maintenance business, subjected his victim to years of abuse before the child reported the behaviour to her mother.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that the child at the centre of the abuse has gone from being a happy, confident, and outgoing little girl to someone who is anxious and self-conscious. The court heard that in April last year the child made disclosures to her mother that Imperato had touched her and the matter was reported to the police.

The youngster "broke down in tears" when officers spoke to her but the investigation later uncovered that the abuse had been going on for a prolonged period with the child saying it had happened "lots of times". The court heard there was an element of grooming to the offending with the 33-year-old defendant buying sweets for the child if she was a "good girl". The victim has lifelong legal anonymity.

In a statement from the victim's mother that was read to the court she said her daughter used to be a happy little girl but was now anxious and did not feel comfortable around boys and men. She said the day her daughter told her what had been happening "my whole world came crashing down" and she blames herself for not being able to protect her child.

Dean Imperato, of Marguerites Way, St Fagans, Cardiff, had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions. Clare Wilkes, for Imperato, said in her submission it was unusual for a defendant to be as open with probation officers as the defendant had been and said given her client's childhood experiences "it is very much to be regretted that he had become a perpetrator". The barrister said the defendant suffered with mental health difficulties which he "could have dealt with better", adding those difficulties were not helped by his use of cannabis. She invited the court to pass a sentence that reflected the seriousness of the offending but was not one of a length that "crushed a man who still has a future ahead of him"

Judge Shomon Khan told Imperato he "sexually abused a little girl for your own sexual gratification" and in so doing had caused "immensurable harm" to the victim and her family. With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas the defendant was sentenced to six years in prison. The judge said he will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Imperato will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life and was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

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A man who subjected a young girl to a decade of rapes and sexual assaults has been given an extended 16 year sentence. Henry Wilson began to abuse his victim when she was aged just five.

Swansea Crown Court heard details of the impact Wilson's offending has had on his victim, and police have praised the bravery of the female in coming forward to report what happened while acknowledging that no sentence can give the victim her childhood back.

Henry Steven Wilson, aged 59, of Matthew Street, Dyfatty, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to multiple counts of rape of a child, indecency, and indecent assault when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. His victim has life-long legal anonymity.

With a discount for his guilty plea Wilson was given a 16 year extended sentence as an "offender of particular concern" comprising 15 years in prison followed by a one-year extended licence period. The defendant must serve two-thirds of the custodial element of the sentence before he can apply for release but it will be for the Parole Board to determine if he is safe to be released. Wilson will be on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life, and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order to control his access to children.

Speaking after the sentencing South Wales Police detective constable Rebecca Williams, the officer in the case, said: "Henry Wilson’s crimes are appalling, disturbing, and upsetting. It is clear he poses a real and significant risk to children. I know that no sentence can make up for the devastating damage he has caused and give this brave victim their childhood back, but I really do hope that they can now start to rebuild their life knowing they are safe from their abuser.

"I would like to publicly praise the victim who has demonstrated a huge amount of dignity and incredible strength supporting this investigation. They should be proud of their courage which means that Henry Wilson is now behind bars for a significant amount of time."

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A MAN branded as dangerous by detectives has been sentenced to 12 years after admitting child sex offending.

Ryan Baskerville, 30, from Liversedge, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday after admitting sex offences against a young child.

The 30-year-old was sentenced to seven years in prison with five years on licence, and was also made subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Leeds Crown Court heard that Baskerville's offending came to light after the victim spoke of what had happened prompting a report to be made to Kirklees Police.

A full investigation was launched by the Kirklees District Child Safeguarding Unit resulting in Baskerville being arrested and later charged.

DC Angus Whitehead, of the Kirklees Child Safeguarding Unit, who led the investigation, said: “I would like to praise the courage of the victim.

"They have shown great fortitude throughout the investigation and court processes.

“I welcome the sentence handed down by Leeds Crown Court to Baskerville for his abhorrent crimes.

"He is dangerous and manipulative offender.

“We would encourage any victims of unreported sexual offences whether recent or non-recent to come forward and contact the police. We handle all reports with the utmost sensitivity.”

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An Evesham man was sentenced to seven years in prison for two counts of rape at Worcester Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday 9 January).

Jason Harris, 37, of Peewit Road, Evesham, was convicted of the two offences with seven-year terms to run concurrently and handed a restraining order of 15 years in respect of his female victim.

Harris was acquitted of a further rape charge and two sexual assault charges against a different woman and cleared of a sexual assault of a third woman.

He was ordered to be a registered sex offender for life, meaning he will have to notify the police of certain information such as his home address when he is released from prison, and he will also be managed by a specialist officer upon his release.

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A convicted sex offender is back behind bars after repeatedly breaching the terms of his court order.

Colin Luke harassed and stalked people living and working in Langley Park over a four-week period in October last year.

The 69-year-old exposed his genitals to shoppers at the village’s Premier Store on one occasion, and then repeatedly harassed staff at the Co-op store and a hair salon.

He visited both businesses an excessive number of times, commenting on the appearance of staff members and invading their personal space.

He also talked to several children in the village and visited a children’s play park, which breached the terms of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) prohibiting him from having any contact with children.

Luke had only just been released from prison when the offences occurred, after serving a sentence for the abduction and sexual assault of a schoolgirl in Bowburn in 2014.

Officers from Durham Constabulary’s Public Protection Unit launched an investigation and Luke was quickly arrested.

He was later charged with six offences, including exposure, stalking, harassment, and breaching a SHPO, which he admitted.

He appeared at Durham Crown Court today (January 10) where he was jailed for two years and four months.

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Police have welcomed the conviction of an Exeter rapist - and praised the courage of the woman he assaulted. Christopher Murphy, aged 35, has been jailed for eight years and nine months by a judge at Exeter Crown Court.

He raped a woman at her home in 2019. A jury found him guilty of three offences at a trial last year and he returned to Exeter Crown Court to be sentenced on Tuesday (January 9).

The judge said he has a "closed and inflexible" attitude to the incident which allows him to hold on to a "high opinion of yourself." She added an extra four years licence to his sentence due to the risk he poses.

Investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Andy Boundy said afterwards: “We would like to take this opportunity to praise the courage shown by the victim in coming forward to report the offences and her support throughout the court process.

“We welcome the verdict and hope that the conviction and subsequent sentence bring about a sense of justice for the victim. We would urge anyone who has been a victim of sexual assault to come forward and report to police. We will support you

The trial was told Murphy took advantage of the woman while visiting her home, first kissing and then refusing to leave before committing the offence.

She said the assault had an ongoing impact on her life. She has panic attacks and is hypervigilant of her surroundings. But she has "already begun to heal" and hopes to move on with her life, the court was told.

Murphy, of King William Street, was convicted of rape and assault by penetration. He has previous convictions for battery, sending offensive communications and assaulting someone in a pub with a glass.

But references from friends also described him as "a wonderful person" and "big-hearted" who had overcome a difficult start to life.

"It will take considerable time to make you open to rehabilitation," said Judge Anna Richardson.

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An international rugby player who had been due to play for the Barbarians has been sentenced to two years and 10 months for a series of sexual offences.

Api Ratuniyarawa, 37, admitted two counts of assault by penetration and one charge of sexual assault at a hearing in December in relation to three young women.

The Fiji lock had been due to feature on the bench for the Barbarians in their match against Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on 4 November 2023.

Cardiff Crown Court previously heard the offences took place between 31 October and 2 November last year.

Ratuniyarawa, who lives in Northamptonshire, denied two further charges of sexual assault relating to one of the three women.

The court previously heard the father-of-four had been without a club since the summer when premiership side London Irish went into receivership.

A sentencing hearing on Tuesday was told Ratuniyarawa had travelled to Cardiff ahead of the Barbarians match, "to attend media commitments and training for the fixture".

Prosecuting, Heath Edwards KC said "the defendant appears to have spent many of his nights socialising" in the week prior to the game.

The prosecution said Ratuniyarawa attended the Revolution bar in Cardiff on the evenings of 31 October, 1 November and 2 November.

The court was shown CCTV footage of all three incidents from the bar's VIP area.

One of his victims read her impact statement in court.

"My attack came out of the blue. It was sudden, shocking," she said.

"I feel degraded, embarrassed and humiliated. I still do."

She said the incident had "started not just to impact [her] but [her] family".

"I should be excited to be going out with my friends, but I can't stop thinking about what has happened," she added.

"He's ruined my life by what he's done, and I feel like I'm in my own personal hell."

She told the court she had been "such an independent person" prior to the incident.

"I couldn't shower until I'd been examined and all I wanted to do was wash that man off me," she said.

"This man had his whole career ahead of him, and such a high-profile person. He did this to me."

In mitigation, Ruth Smith KC said the defendant would like to apologise for his actions but that he had "limited recollection" of the incidents.

"The defendant would like, through me, as an initial statement, to apologise to each of the victims in this case," she said.

"The consumption of alcohol for him in such quantities was completely out of character."

Ms Smith told the court Ratuniyarawa had "never drunk that much before in his entire life".

"This incident fell at a time of upheaval in the personal life of the defendant," she added.

"He was without employment. He is a gentlemen that supports not only his immediate family financially, but a range of others financially. And it resulted in a situation of stress for him," Ms Smith said.

The court heard the defendant had been described "by those that run Fiji Rugby as a dedicated and valuable asset".

"He knows his legacy is forever tarnished with behaviour that is reflected in these counts," Ms Smith added.

"He has not only let himself down, his family, but also his country in respect of his behaviour."

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke also granted a restraining order of three years in relation to one of the victims.

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A man raped a woman after spraying her with his aftershave, telling her: "I want you to smell like me." Abdul Qadir, 21, met the woman on a social media dating site.

After exchanging details, he invited her to his flat. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told her friends and family where she was going, before getting a taxi to the property in Stockport.

Qadir and the woman chatted and kissed on the sofa, before he sprayed her with his aftershave. She said it was 'weird behaviour'. He then took her to his bedroom, before touching her intimately.

The woman said he was rushing and that it was 'too much', Minshull Street Crown Court heard. Qadir pulled off her leggings and underwear before raping her.

"You said no, I should have listened," he told her after the attack. After the woman reported Qadir to the police, he told them: "I met the girl on social media, I asked her to take her leggings off, she said 'no', I had sex with her... I got carried away."

Qadir, of Buxton Road, Great Moor, was jailed for three years and two months. He earlier pleaded guilty to rape.

Daniel Calder, prosecuting, told the court Qadir met the woman online last year. They exchanged numbers and chatted on WhatsApp. They then arranged to meet at his flat.

"They kissed and then the defendant sprayed her with aftershave, telling her 'I want you to smell like me'," Mr Calder said.

"He then gave her a tour before they sat on his bed and kissed again. He then attempted to remove her clothes before she told him it was too much and that he was rushing."

Qadir asked the woman if she was on the pill before taking his clothes on and getting a condom. "She told him they were not going to have sex," the prosecutor continued.

He told her he was 'horny' and climbed on top of her. After being raped, the woman went to the bathroom and told her family what had happened.

The woman recorded Qadir on her phone admitting he had raped her and apologised. He later sent her messages asking if she was okay.

Qadir was arrested that afternoon. He told police what he had done, saying he got 'carried away'.

'What happened to me will always be with me'

In a statement, the woman said the incident is always on her mind, adding: "I keep thinking about how I could have stopped it. I just want to forget about it and move on with my life.

"I was looking forward to the date. Now it takes me back to what happened and I relive the trauma all over again. My sleeping pattern is all over the place, for a while I struggled to eat and I worry about strangers.

"Something so private and personal was taken from me and I will never get it back. What happened to me will always be with me - it feels like a physical scar."

David Bruce, for Qadir, said the fact his client pleaded guilty showed 'courage rarely seen in cases such as this'. "This is a relatively young man with no previous convictions," he said.

"He made a mistake, a bad mistake... an unlawful mistake. He acted out of character and he does show remorse."

Mr Bruce said Qadir came to the UK Kingdom from Iraq when he was 16, before going into the care system. His application for asylum was turned down and he was planning to rea-appeal before he was remanded into custody.

Judge Angela Nield told him: "She did not wish to engage in intimate sexual relations with you. She told you 'no' on a number of occasions. She was a stranger and vulnerable. It's clear that you fully understood what she was saying because you subsequently, and very quickly, apologised to her.

"There is no doubt what happened to her. You told the police you would tell them the truth - that you had raped her."

Qadir was jailed for three years and two months; ordered to sign to the sex offender register for life and banned from contacting the woman. The case will be referred to the Home Secretary who will decide if and when he is deported.